Red FM (Malaysia)

Red FM
Broadcast areaWest Malaysia and Singapore
FrequencyVaries depending on its region
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatTalk, contemporary hit radio
Ownership
OwnerStar Media Group Berhad
History
First air date
1 September 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-01)
Last air date
31 December 2015, 2359 hours
Links
Websitewww.red.fm (defunct)

Red FM is a defunct Malaysian English language-private radio station that used to broadcast across Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. It was managed by Star Media Radio Group,[1] a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Publications (M) Bhd. Red FM began broadcasting on 1 September 2001 and was one of Malaysia's top five English radio stations.[2]

The station was targeted at urban and suburban listeners, playing selected music from the 1980s and 1990s as well as current favourites. The station, as of 2003, played pop and rock songs with a focus on R&B.[3] In a 2015 listenership survey done by Gfk, Red FM commanded a weekly listenership of 325,000, which shows expansion by 70%.[4]

On 9 September 2016, satellite TV company Astro announced plans to acquire both Red FM and Capital FM from Star Radio for a price of RM42 million. Astro intended to rebrand and broadcast these two radio stations via on-air and online platforms after acquisition.[5] The acquisition was completed on 30 December 2016 and these stations are now owned by Astro Radio and no longer branded as such. From 1 February 2017 until 2 October 2017, these stations broadcast test transmissions for the then-upcoming rebrand and the official website also stopped working.[6] Red FM's frequencies are now used by Astro Radio's newest Muslim-oriented radio station, Zayan FM with effect from 2 October 2017.

  1. ^ "Star Media Radio Group".
  2. ^ "Radio Maintains Strong Appeal Among Malaysians With Nine In 10 Tuning In Weekly". Archived from the original on 6 December 2011.
  3. ^ "How to tune into these voices from afar". The New Paper. 25 May 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Star Radio getting louder". The Star (Malaysia). 28 November 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Astro seeks to acquire all of Capital FM for RM42m". The Malay Mail. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Radio industry will remain relevant, says Astro Radio CEO". 23 January 2017. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2017.